setLayout(new BorderLayout( ));
JPanel p = new JPanel( );
p.add(new JButton("North"));
add(p, BorderLayout.NORTH);
p = new JPanel( );
p.add(new JButton("South"));
add(p, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
p = new JPanel( );
p.add(new JButton("East"));
add(p, BorderLayout.EAST);
p = new JPanel( );
p.add(new JButton("West"));
add(p, BorderLayout.WEST);
p = new JPanel( );
p.add(new JButton("Center"));
add(p, BorderLayout.CENTER);